- The central government is working on a plan to launch a One Nation One Ration Card scheme for beneficiaries especially migrant workers to access the Public Distribution System(PDS) from any PDS shop across the country.
- The aim of the scheme is to provide freedom to beneficiaries as they will not be tied to one PDS shop, reduce their dependence on shop owners and curtail corruption.
- Further,the biggest beneficiaries will be migrant workers who move to other states to seek better job opportunities.
- The minister said that the Integrated Management of PDS(IMPDS) under which beneficiaries can avail their share of food grain from any district is operational in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura.
- The PDS evolved as a system for distribution of food grains at affordable prices and management of emergency situations.It is an Indian food security system.
- It was established by the Government of India under Ministry of Consumer Affairs,Food and Public Distribution and are managed jointly by state governments in India.
- It distributes subsidized food and non-food items to India’s poor.It functions through a network of Fair Price Shops at a subsidized price on a recurring basis.
Govt to launch ‘One Nation One Ration Card’
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